Media Swans Talk in the Media 2024

[Voula]

who would you prefer as the next CEO of the AFL.. Someone who has experienced life/work in the (very important) northern markets,, or someone who has never left Victoria (and gets excited when the big Vic clubs are doing well)?

Ive heard numerous people from the four northern clubs say over the last few years.. "you dont understand until you work there"
I for one, would be delighted to have Harley or the fella from Brizzy get the top job at AFL house

An example is the turnaround of opinion by Hardwick. Now that he is coaching the the Gold Coast, he can see the disadvantages of the Northern clubs.

 

[bedford]

An example is the turnaround of opinion by Hardwick. Now that he is coaching the the Gold Coast, he can see the disadvantages of the Northern clubs.

Good

 

[Callipygian]

A few points:

* The whole AFL industry is rife with conflicts of interest. It's the way it is. The industry is startlingly unaccountable. You can complain and try to change it, but, in the meantime, that's what it is.

* Our club has little scope to challenge and confront the AFL. The AFL is our sole shareholder and has complete control over our club. They can literally tell us what to do and we have to do that. At the AGM one of our staff represents them, perhaps as Company Secretary. More recently it has been Drew Arthurson our CFO but previously it may have been Leigh Taylor, I'm not sure. The only way we can challenge the AFL is relatively softly/discreetly (except maybe in some egregious circumstances and even then we would just have to use the strength of our position to leverage a good outcome behind closed doors). Not only is the AFL industry rife with conflict, it's also controlled by relatively few and they don't tolerate too much rocking of the boat/gravy train.

* In all the circumstances Harley has shown himself to be a person of fortitude and integrity over his career both before he came to the club and since. He used to face criticisms that he was secretly rowing for Geelong but fortunately that has mostly dried up over time. I think he's done a great job running the club efficiently and well. He also seems to operate as part of a team - he's not a one man show, like perhaps Eddie at Collingwood tried to be.

 

[Kiama Chris]

A few points:

* The whole AFL industry is rife with conflicts of interest. It's the way it is. The industry is startlingly unaccountable. You can complain and try to change it, but, in the meantime, that's what it is.

* Our club has little scope to challenge and confront the AFL. The AFL is our sole shareholder and has complete control over our club. They can literally tell us what to do and we have to do that. At the AGM one of our staff represents them, perhaps as Company Secretary. More recently it has been Drew Arthurson our CFO but previously it may have been Leigh Taylor, I'm not sure. The only way we can challenge the AFL is relatively softly/discreetly (except maybe in some egregious circumstances and even then we would just have to use the strength of our position to leverage a good outcome behind closed doors). Not only is the AFL industry rife with conflict, it's also controlled by relatively few and they don't tolerate too much rocking of the boat/gravy train.

* In all the circumstances Harley has shown himself to be a person of fortitude and integrity over his career both before he came to the club and since. He used to face criticisms that he was secretly rowing for Geelong but fortunately that has mostly dried up over time. I think he's done a great job running the club efficiently and well. He also seems to operate as part of a team - he's not a one man show, like perhaps Eddie at Collingwood tried to be.

I think that operationally Harley is an excellent CEO. He supports those under him publicly and appears to do his best to give them the tools necessary to succeed. He and Pridham appear to be on the same page. The membership and other successes are largely on him.
The failure of the football department to deliver a premiership when everything appeared to be in their favour is, in my opinion, on the football department. Coaches and players.

 

[Arwib]

I think they occupy a middle ground on the go home factor, but at the same time opposed COLA because it's cheaper to live in WA, and SA particularly, and they do get to coax some home grown players back to offset the Victorians leaving - so F the academies.

WA and SA are the only areas where there's a surplus of talent relative to available list spots.

Victoria is a little over half the talent pool and a little over half the list spots, NSW and Qld are obviously in deep deficits. But there's a few dozen more SA and WA players in the system than would all fit on the 75 or so spots available at those four clubs. So they have that steady stream of players coming back that generally more than balances the players who leave, unless they're serious basket cases.

 

[RedBloodBlackSwan]

I think that operationally Harley is an excellent CEO. He supports those under him publicly and appears to do his best to give them the tools necessary to succeed. He and Pridham appear to be on the same page. The membership and other successes are largely on him.
The failure of the football department to deliver a premiership when everything appeared to be in their favour is, in my opinion, on the football department. Coaches and players.

I think I mostly agree.

There is still a role for the CEO in setting standards and expectations. For example, I was heartened to hear that Harley instigated working through the GF tape with horse and putting players on the spot to explain their actions. On the other hand, I think he has also used the “this will not define us” line and also throws to secondary and tertiary measures of success when contextualising the season.

Overall I think he is a good CEO though, and I suspect the players will feel less comfortable next year, which will be a good thing.